Tony Johor Kaki Travels for Food · Heritage · Culture · History

Food Explorer Storyteller with 63 million+ reads 📧 johorkaki@gmail.com

Hainan vs YouFu. Tale of 2 Famous Hokkien Mee @ Golden Mile Food Centre

Hokkien_Mee_Singapore

There are two popular Hokkien mee stalls now in Golden Mile Food Centre - Hainan Hokkien Prawn Mee which have been around for some 30 years and YouFu Hokkien Prawn Mee which started less than 6 months ago here.

Best Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice @ Golden Mile Hawker Centre Actually

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Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice is the most popular chicken rice stall in Golden Mile Food Centre. It tastes good and is one of the cheapest chicken rice in Singapore, starting at $2.50 a serving.

History of Teochew Cuisine & Hawker Culture in Singapore

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Teochew make up just 20% of Chinese population in Singapore but Teochew cuisine have a prominence in Singapore's food culture well beyond their numbers. Teochew dishes like char kway teow, bak chor mee, bak kut teh, kway chap, oyster omelette (orh luak), braised duck (lor ark), fishball noodles, etc are flag bearers of Singapore hawker culture.

Singapore Foraging Diary · Edible Wild in our Concrete Jungle

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It is fun spotting edible wild leaves, flowers and fruits in Singapore's concrete jungle. In this foraging dairy, I document the edible wilds that I stumble upon in public places, living in Singapore.

Best Kolo Mee in Singapore. Not Only I Say. Even Sarawak People Also 😝

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Many people who have been to Kuching, Miri or Sibu would come home with a craving for kolo mee, what more Sarawakians away from home, like those living in Singapore. Where is the best kolo mee in Singapore then? 🤷‍♂️

Why ask a Singaporean who goes by the moniker Johor Kaki when you can have true blue Sarawakians tell you where they get their kolo mee fix here 💪

Chinese Ocean Curry Fish Head @ Toa Payoh Lor 4

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Nice Chinese style curry fish head with sweetish, slightly tangy curry and mild heat. Served bubbly hot in a claypot with ocean fresh Ang Ko Li 紅戈里 (gold band sea bream) and loads of vegetables.

Foraging Edible Wild Fruits & Flowers @ Dempsey Hill. Fun Way to Clock 10,000 Steps

Foraging_Singapore

When I was a boy in 1970s Singapore, one of my favourite pastimes was to follow uncle Teo around Singapore spotting wild flowers. Today, I relived my childhood following chef Isaac Henry spotting wild edible leaves, flowers and fruits around Dempsey Hill.

History of Kompia & Kway Chap. Culinary Legacy of Ming Dynasty General Qi Ji Guang 戚繼光

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What do kompia and kway chap have in common? Both are once military rations credited to general Qi Ji Guang (1528 - 1588) of China's Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644).

Gambier, Pepper, Chu Kang & Mother of Singapore Hawker Food

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Teochew bak kut teh is synonymous with Singapore bak kut teh, and probably the earliest invented in Singapore hawker dish. Here is an alternative theory on the creation of Singapore Teochew bak kut teh.

History of Orang Laut in Singapore & Johor ● From Feared Sea Warriors to Seafood Chefs

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Many of us have eaten at Orang Laut operated seafood restaurants in Johor such as Restoran Todak, Restoran Mutiara Biru, Restoran Teo Orang Asli Seafood, etc. An appreciation of Orang Laut history may give us a bit of added flavour to make our seafood meal at these restaurants a little more delicious 😋 

Damn Shiok Hong Ji Mian Shi Jia Wanton Mee @ Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre 鸿记面食家

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Today, Daniel and Sylvia brought me to one of their favourite wanton mee stalls at Hong Ji Mian Shi Jia at Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre. Oh... I enjoyed the tenderly springy noodles with old school aromatic lardy spicy sauce.

Tjao Sin Wanton Mee with Fried Egg @ Blk 125 Bukit Merah Lane 1. Lost & Found Favourite WTM Invisible on Social Media

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Today, I met up with Daniel, Sylvia and family at Queenstown MRT station to start our whole day food trail. We had a perfect plan laid out. Food trails with Johor Kaki always start with a perfect plan 😄

Nostalgic Goldhill Hakka Restaurant 1997 @ Changi Road. Eastie Favourite since 1950s

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Homely, comforting Hakka dishes like house made yong tau foo, fishballs, abacus seed, and steamed clams in a nostalgic simple family run restaurant. Goldhill Hakka Restaurant 1997 is a household name among Singapore easties.

Chin Lee Restaurant @ Blk 115 Bedok North. Fine Teochew Cuisine at Reasonable Prices 深利美食馆

Chin_Lee_Teochew_Restaurant_Blk_115_Bedok_North.

Second time at Chin Lee Teochew restaurant in Bedok North. We had dishes we didn't try before. Again, Chin Lee delivered a stellar lunch which six of us enjoyed every dish

Restaurant name: Chin Lee Restaurant 深利美食馆


Address: Bedok North Road, #01-285 Block 115, Singapore 460115


Tel: 6444 5554 ☎ 6449 5454


Hours: 11:30am - 2:30pm | 6:00pm - 10:30pm

The Coastal Settlement. Cosy Hangout @ 200 Netheravon Road Changi

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The cool rustic chic ambiance at The Coastal Settlement is WOWing and I enjoyed the wagyu cheeseburger I had today. Will be back to soak in the atmosphere and try more dishes as well as the coffee.

UNA Spanish Restaurant @ Alkaff Mansion Menu & Review

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Woo.. hoo.. awesome Spanish fare at UNA @ Alkaff Mansion - the grande dame of fine dining in Singapore. UNA's paellas are mind blowing umami blasts and their stewed beef cheek, unforgettable.

Jin Xi Lai (Mui Siong) Ultimate Liver Lover's Bak Chor Mee Minced Meat Noodle

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If you are a liver lover, you have to check out Jin Xi Lai (Mui Siong) 金喜来梅松肉脞面. Their soup is good, noodle and sauce are no sloth, but their pork liver conquers all. The liver is fresh, sliced thick and cooked to just the right doneness. Crunchy to the bite with clean tasty juicy tenderness.


Kway Chap ● Popular Singapore Hawker Dish & Chinese Military History 潮州粿汁的历史

Singapore_Kway_Chap_History

Kway chap 粿汁 as it is called in Singapore is not a pretty or glamorous dish. Almost every hawker centre and many coffee shops have a kway chap stall though it hasn't made the leap to 5 Star hotels unlike compatriots like chicken rice, laksa etc. Still, the ancient kway chap remains a popular dish even among the young.


Origins of Singapore Katong Laksa · Why we have to Thank the Hainanese for Nyonya Laksa in Singapore

Nyonya_Laksa

Nyonya laksa is synonymous with Singapore laksa. The two most famous laksa brands in Singapore today are Janggut Laksa and Sungei Road Laksa. Both are Nyonya laksa and both have an unexpected Hainanese connection (which shouldn't be surprising once we look at Singapore's immigration history).


Choon Seng Teochew Porridge in Pek Kio Singapore

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Today, we followed chef Benny Se Teo for one of his favourite places for Teochew porridge at Choon Seng in Pek Kio. The dishes were traditional i.e. familial, nicely cooked using fresh, good quality ingredients. Everything we ate was likeable with relatively mild but well balanced savoury sweet and natural flavours. Prices, especially the fish, were on the premium side.

History of Laksa is Like Some Love Stories, it's Complicated

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Sarawak Laksa
Nyonya laksa is synonymous with laksa in Singapore. Most Singaporeans are familiar with Nyonya laksa and many know the history of the spicy noodle soup dish. But, to the bigger question of where do laksa come from - that's a harder one to answer.


Rizal Burger @ Jalan Anggerik 39 in Johor Jaya. Hero Hafeez of Mount Austin Snatch Thief Incident



On 1 Sep 2020, Hafeez who works at the Rizal Burger stand at Jalan Anggerik 39 in Johor Jaya foiled a motorcycle snatch thief with his bravery and quick thinking.


MR Baguette @ Golden Mile. Explosive to Die For Chocolate Lava Grenades

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Woah... this chocolate lava grenade from Mr. Baguette at Golden Mile Food Centre is delicious and so fun to eat! 😋 The chocolaty sweet warm lava literally explodes when you bite into the crispy crumbly baguette crust. No bluff.


Hidden Gem Kway Chap in Jalan Berseh Food Centre @ Lao Liang Stall #02-37

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Lao Liang in Jalan Berseh Food Centre serves one of the best kway chap or stewed pork offal with rice sheets in Singapore.

Jiang Ji Traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice @ 780 Khatib Vale, Yishun (Last Day Here on 20 Apr 2022)

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Jiang Ji Traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice is run by Raymond, Alvin and Sue, sons and daughter of Sergeant Kiang who was part of the pioneer team behind the famed game changing Chatterbox Chicken Rice of Mandarin Hotel.

Sim's Ngoh Hiang @ Crawford Lane. Homely Signature 7-Inch Chinese 5 Spice Meat Roll

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Generous meaty ngoh hiang with very mild Chinese 5-spice taste. The tofu skin wrap is fried to a golden brown crisp while the pork, prawn, water chestnut, and scallion filling is juicy and savoury sweet. Other than their homely signature 7-inch meat roll, they have fried prawn fritters, fried chicken wings and fried bee hoon.